Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. Reports Third Quarter Results; Sales up 33% and Net Income up 17%


Los Angeles, CA - October 21, 2010 - Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (NYSE:RS) reported
today its financial results for the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2010. For the 2010
third quarter, Reliance reported net income of $48.7 million, up 17%, compared to 2009 third quarter net
income of $41.8 million. Earnings per diluted share were $.65 in the 2010 third quarter, up 14% compared
to $.57 in the 2009 third quarter. Sales for the 2010 third quarter were $1.65 billion, up 33% from 2009
third quarter sales of $1.24 billion, and up 2% from 2010 second quarter sales of $1.62 billion. The 2010
third quarter financial results include in cost of sales a pre-tax LIFO charge, or expense, of $9.75 million,
compared with a pre-tax LIFO credit, or income, of $67.5 million for the 2009 third quarter. The LIFO
adjustments, in effect, reflect cost of sales at current replacement costs.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2010, net income amounted to $154.9 million, up 176%
compared to 2009 nine-month net income of $56.1 million. Earnings per diluted share were $2.08 for the
nine months ended September 30, 2010, compared with earnings of $.76 per diluted share for the nine
months ended September 30, 2009. Sales for the 2010 nine months were $4.73 billion, up 17% from 2009
nine-month sales of $4.04 billion. The 2010 nine months financial results include in cost of sales a pre-tax
LIFO charge, or expense of $24.75 million, compared with a pre-tax LIFO credit, or income of $217.5
million in the 2009 nine months.

Reliance's tons sold for the 2010 third quarter were up 11% from the 2009 third quarter and up 1%
from the 2010 second quarter. Average prices per ton sold in the 2010 third quarter were up 20%
compared to the 2009 third quarter and up 1% compared to the 2010 second quarter. For the 2010 third
quarter, carbon steel sales were 52% of net sales; aluminum sales were 18%; stainless steel sales were
16%; alloy sales were 8%; other sales were 4% and toll processing sales were 2%.

David H. Hannah, Chairman and CEO of Reliance said, "The operating environment during the
2010 third quarter was pretty steady with the 2010 second quarter. Mill pricing declined a bit more than
we had anticipated during the quarter, pressuring our selling prices and causing our gross profit margins to
narrow somewhat. Demand was a little better than we had expected as we typically see a seasonal decline
in the third quarter compared to the second quarter. Overall we are pleased with our performance during
the quarter in light of the existing market conditions."

"Our balance sheet continues to be strong with our net debt-to-capital ratio at 25% as of September
30, 2010. We generated cash from operations of $83 million in the 2010 third quarter due to our stable
profit levels and stringent working capital management," stated Hannah.

"The non-residential construction market is still our weakest end market, and below even last
year's poor levels. It appears, though, that we have reached bottom. Business activity in most all of our
other markets is better than a year ago; especially in the semiconductor and electronics, energy,
agriculture, and aerospace industries. Acquisition opportunities have also improved," continued Hannah.

"In the 2010 fourth quarter, we expect demand to decline somewhat due to normal holiday
closures at our customers and we expect pricing to be steady to down for most products that we sell.
Given these expectations, at this time, we estimate earnings per diluted share in a range of $.35 to $.45
for the 2010 fourth quarter," Hannah concluded.

On October 1, 2010, Reliance acquired the outstanding capital securities of Diamond Consolidated
Industries, Inc. and affiliated companies. The operating entities consist of Diamond Manufacturing
Company located in Wyoming, Pennsylvania and Diamond Manufacturing Midwest in Michigan City,
Indiana that specialize in the manufacture and sale of specialty engineered perforated materials; Perforated
Metals Plus, a distributor of perforated metals located in Charlotte, North Carolina; and Dependable Punch
Corporation, a manufacturer of custom punches for tools and dies also located in Wyoming, Pennsylvania.
The original business was founded in 1915. Primary end markets are agriculture; office equipment;
electronics; appliance; automotive and architectural. The combined sales of Diamond and its affiliated
companies for the nine months ended September 30, 2010 were approximately $75 million.

On October 20, 2010, the Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $.10 per
share of common stock. The dividend is payable on December 22, 2010 to shareholders of record
December 3, 2010. The Company has paid regular quarterly dividends for 51 consecutive years.

Reliance will host a conference call that will be broadcast live over the Internet (listen only mode)
regarding the third quarter and nine months financial results for the period ended September 30, 2010. All
interested parties are invited to listen to the web cast on October 21, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time
at: www.rsac.com on the Investor Information section or www.streetevents.com. Player
format: Windows Media and RealPlayer. The web cast will remain on the Reliance web site at:
www.rsac.com on the Investor Information section through November 21, 2010 and a printed
transcript will be posted on the Reliance web site after the completion of the conference call.

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co., headquartered in Los Angeles, California, is the largest metals
service center company in North America. Through a network of more than 200 locations in 38 states and
Belgium, Canada, China, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, and the United Kingdom, the
Company provides value-added metals processing services and distributes a full line of over 100,000
metal products to more than 125,000 customers in a broad range of industries.

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co.'s press releases and additional information are available on
the Company's web site at www.rsac.com. The Company was named to the 2010 "Fortune 500"
List, the 2009 Forbes "America's Best Managed Companies" List, the 2010 Fortune List of "The
World's Most Admired Companies," and the 2009 Forbes "Platinum 400 List of America's Best Big
Companies."

CONTACT:
Kim P. Feazle
Investor Relations
(713) 610-9937
(213) 576-2428
kfeazle@rsac.com
investor@rsac.com

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